A Bangladeshi man receives COVID-19 vaccine in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Jan 30, 2022. (MAHMUD HOSSAIN OPU / AP)
CANBERRA / MANILA / YANGON / SINGAPORE / HANOI / KUALA LUMPUR / COLOMBO / NEW DELHI / DHAKA / ISLAMABAD – The Bangladeshi government has said that everyone aged 60 or above will be offered a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine in order to boost people's fading immunity against the disease.
Speaking at a press conference in Dhaka on Tuesday, Ahmedul Kabir, a senior official of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), announced that the 4th shot will be available at seven vaccination centers in Dhaka on Dec 20 on a trial basis.
Subsequently, he said the campaign will be expanded to inoculate people above the age of 60, frontline workers and those suffering from comorbidities.
According to the official, Bangladesh aims to provide the fourth vaccine shot to over 20 million people.
More than 126 million people have so far received at least two doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country, while over 62 million people have received booster shots.
Staff check a client at a drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia on Jan 8, 2022. (MARK BAKER / AP)
Australia
A leading infectious diseases expert has predicted that up to 500,000 Australians are currently infected with COVID-19.
Peter Collignon, an infectious diseases physician and microbiologist from Australian National University (ANU) and Canberra Hospital, on Wednesday warned that up to 2 percent of the country's population were likely to have coronavirus.
The latest data from the Department of Health revealed that there were more than 14,000 infections reported per day in the week to Nov. 29 but Collignon said the actual number of cases was likely much higher.
"I would think one or two percent of people have probably got COVID at this point in time, which is a lot, but the vast majority are reinfections now. Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admissions and ICU ventilations are nowhere near what it was earlier this year," he told News Corp Australia.
In mid-October, there was a weekly average of 170.3 new coronavirus cases in Australia per 1 million people. By late November the figure had increased to 554.1 cases per million people.
According to the Department of Health, Australia's fourth wave of infections is spreading at a more gradual rate than previously expected.
People wearing masks as a precaution against the coronavirus walk through a market in New Delhi, India, Aug 11, 2022. (ALTAF QADRI / AP)
India
India's daily COVID-19 caseload increased to 166 on Wednesday, according to federal health ministry data, a slight increase in comparison to Tuesday's caseload of 165.
Five related death were recorded during the past 24 hours, pushing the overall death toll to 530,638 since the beginning of the pandemic, the ministry said.
Government data showed that the active caseload stands at 4,255.
Malaysia
Malaysia reported 1,649 new COVID-19 infections as of midnight Tuesday, bringing the national total to 5,003,557, according to the Health Ministry.
There are three new imported cases, with 1,646 cases being local transmissions, data released on the ministry's website showed.
Another 16 deaths have been reported, pushing the death toll to 36,732.
A health worker gives the first-time dose of COVID-19 vaccine to a woman, part of the 65 years and older tier, in a school being used as a vaccination site in Yangon, Myanmar on Feb 5, 2021. (STR / AFP)
Myanmar
Myanmar has confirmed 17 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total tally to 633,341, the country's Ministry of Health said on Tuesday.
The ministry said in a statement that the death toll from COVID-19 in the country remained unchanged at 19,488 on Tuesday as no new deaths were reported.
Pakistan
Pakistan has reported 28 new COVID-19 cases and two more deaths, the country's Ministry of Health said on Wednesday.
According to data released by the ministry, the overall tally of infected people increased to 1,575,383 across the South Asian country after adding the new cases.
A total of 30,634 people died of COVID-19 in Pakistan, with two more deaths reported on Tuesday, according to the ministry's statistics.
A man shops for face masks in Divisoria, a local shopping district in Manila on May 17, 2022. (JAM STA ROSA / AFP)
Philippines
The Philippines reported 883 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 4,042,936.
The Department of Health said the number of active cases dropped to 17,481, while 20 more patients died from COVID-19 complications, taking the country's death toll to 64,770.
Metro Manila, the capital region with over 13 million people, tallied 315 new cases.
A notice warning people not to gather in groups larger than five persons as part of restrictions to hald the spread of the coronavirus is displayed at Raffles Place financial business district in Singapore on Jan 4, 2022. (ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)
Singapore
Singapore reported 1,817 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total tally to 2,174,989.
A total of 132 cases are currently warded in hospitals, with eight of them held in intensive care units, according to statistics released by the country's Ministry of Health.
No new deaths from COVID-19 were reported on Tuesday, leaving the total death toll unchanged at 1,706.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka's health ministry on Wednesday said it removed COVID-19 restrictions that were in place on passengers arriving from overseas.
The ministry said in a statement that the requirement to produce a COVID-19 vaccination certificate by any person arriving from overseas was removed with immediate effect.
Also, the requirement for a negative COVID-19 test on arrival or before boarding, including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and rapid antigen tests (RAT), was no longer required.
If foreign nationals or tourists become COVID-19 positive after landing in Sri Lanka, they should isolate themselves for seven days in a private hospital, hotel, or where they reside, said the ministry, adding that the cost of treatment or isolation should be borne by themselves.
A man passes walks past a billboard on the coronavirus in Ho Chi Minh City on Dec 4, 2021. (NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
Vietnam
Vietnam recorded 362 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, down 65 from Monday, according to the country's Ministry of Health.
All the new cases were locally transmitted, said the ministry.
The new infections brought the total tally to 11,518,511. The Southeast Asian country reported a new death from the pandemic in the southern province of Tay Ninh on Tuesday, lifting the total fatalities to 43,178.